Data sharing goes from feature to bug

• More than a decade ago, Facebook opened itself to the world, inviting developers to build apps and programs on top of the social network’s platform.

Millions of third-party apps have been created since then, and the consequences of Facebook’s loose approach to the collection of user data are becoming clear, our tech columnist writes.

As Facebook grapples with questions about its role in the spread of disinformation, the company’s chief information security officer is said to be leaving. The executive, Alex Stamos, had pushed for more transparency but met resistance from other senior leaders, according to current and former employees.

• Cambridge Analytica, the political data firm that harvested information from more than 50 million Facebook profiles, also sought to entrap politicians with sex or bribes, according to an investigation in Britain that included a journalist posing as a prospective client.

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Alexander Nix, the chief executive of the political research company Cambridge Analytica, in November. In footage broadcast by Britain’s Channel 4 on Monday, Mr. Nix offered services that went far beyond data harvesting.CreditPedro Nunes/Reuters

• The shooting comes just over a month after 14 students and three adults were killed at a high school in Parkland, Fla.

A pall is cast on driverless cars

• Last year, we wrote about how Arizona’s promise to keep the self-driving car industry free of regulations attracted dozens of companies, including Lyft, Uber and Waymo.

That lack of oversight is among the factors under scrutiny after an autonomous car operated by Uber killed a woman in Tempe, Ariz. It is believed to be the first pedestrian death associated with self-driving technology on a public road.

• Supporters say the cars will ultimately be safer than regular vehicles because they take easily distracted humans out of the equation. But the relatively new technology is only starting to experience the unpredictable situations that drivers can face.

Syria’s war, through Assad’s eyes

• For weeks, the international news media has shown images of wounded children and throngs of refugees fleeing the Syrian military’s offensive in a rebel-held suburb of Damascus.

This week, the government hit back with videos showing President Bashar al-Assad visiting the area to congratulate his forces and to greet cheering residents.

• Our correspondent reports: “Mr. Assad delivered an alternative view of the war, one in which he is assured and in charge, casually cruising past bombed-out buildings, often driving with just two fingers, an elbow propped casually out the window. It is a world in which his opponents are all terrorists and his troops all heroes.”

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President Bashar al-Assad of Syria appeared in a series of videos driving from Damascus to eastern Ghouta, the suburb that has been under siege for almost five years.Published OnMarch 19, 2018CreditImage by Syrian Arab News Agency

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Listen to ‘The Daily’: Putin’s Grip on Russia

President Vladimir V. Putin has been elected to a fourth term, drawing support from more than three-quarters of voters. How is the most powerful man in Russia staying that way?

Business

• The chaotic five-month effort to keep the Weinstein Company afloat has ended.

The Hollywood studio filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, and said it released anyone “who suffered or witnessed any form of sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein” from nondisclosure agreements.

What We’re Reading

• “You don’t have to be tech savvy to understand how much information Facebook has about you, everything you like, everything you share, and everyone you know. This BuzzFeed piece is a fast, easy primer, with a headline that says it all: ‘3 Simple Ways We Give Up a Ton of Very Personal Information to Facebook and Random Apps.’ ” — Alan Henry, Smarter Living editor